


hide and seek

by demistories



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friendship, trials of apollo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-27 00:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5027272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demistories/pseuds/demistories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He sat on her desk kicking his legs as he drank a soda. Being back home— Being back at camp was a relief. The Romans had been hospitable, Hazel and Frank were sweethearts and Reyna was actually hilarious, but the thick air of distrust that surrounded her was stifling. She was happy to get to come home, even if it was only because no one had any idea what was going on. And it meant that she got to laugh at Apollo as he glared at her which was always fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hide and seek

**Author's Note:**

> there is not plot. title??? 
> 
> let me go to bed

He sat on her desk kicking his legs as he drank a soda. Being back home— Being back at  _camp_ was a relief. The Romans had been hospitable, Hazel and Frank were sweethearts and Reyna was actually hilarious, but the thick air of distrust that surrounded her was stifling. She was happy to get to come home, even if it was only because no one had any idea what was going on. And it meant that she got to laugh at Apollo as he glared at her which was always fun.

It all felt familiar, except Apollo was usually lounging on her couch playing his lyre or writing poetry, not sitting on her desk. He also usually wasn’t thirteen. Or mortal.

“Add green,” he said, pushing the paint towards her.

“Shut up, you’re like twelve,” Rachel said instantly. She picked up the tube of paint. “No way, definitely not this shade.”

Apollo scrunched his nose. “I’m _thirteen_!”

She snorted.

His eyes widened. “Wait! No I’m not! I’m way older than you, why aren’t you listening to me?”

Rachel flicked her paintbrush at him. “Hey, while your voice cracks and you have awful acne, I’m older. I’ve already been through the trials of puberty, I’ve got the seniority here.”

He groaned. “This isn’t _fair_!”

“Life isn’t fair, kid,” she muttered.

“Don’t call me kid.” He pushed himself off the desk. “You need green.”

“I do not.” Rachel stepped back and studied the painting.

Apollo watched her and smirked as her expression changed. “Told you.”

“Get out of here, twerp.” Rachel reached for her paints. “Besides, you got the shade wrong.”

“Sorry for being more into art and poetry than painting.” He stuck out his tongue. “Besides, I’m not leaving. I like being in here more than in camp.”

“You’re still in camp,” she pointed out.

Apollo shrugged and slumped onto the couch. “Yeah, sure. But it’s different. This feels more like home.”

Rachel stopped, her paintbrush hovering above the canvas.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he grumbled. “Home? What home? You’re a god, you don’t have a home. Or like the world is your home or something deep like that.”

“What about Olympus?” she asked. She put her brush down.

“Nah. Olympus is like… It’s too formal and fancy to be home. Too uptight. Too many bad memories. The family isn’t great enough to make it home.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Apollo with his legs pulled up to his chest. “Then what’s home?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”

Rachel hesitated before turning around. “For me, home has always been where the people I love are.”

“So…here?”

She sat down next to him. “When the people I love are here, yeah. But when they aren’t, it’s just a place I like to be, really.”

Apollo rested his chin on his knees. “Yeah, but you can’t really love people when you’re a god. People leave too soon.”

“What about Artemis?”

“Well yeah. I’ll always love Artemis.”

“There’s definitely a but there.”

He sighed. “But she has her Hunters. She’s not alone.”

Rachel moved closer. “You aren’t alone either.”

Apollo turned his head away. “The closest I’ve got is my Oracle, and she kind of changes with every Host. Except now I don’t have her either.”

Rachel sunk into the back of the couch. “Yeah, I know.”

He stiffened. “I mean…” He groaned. “I’ve been really selfish about this, huh? A spoiled, pretentious, whiny jerk about this.”

“What? No,” she said quickly.

Apollo glared at her. “I’m not a god anymore, you don’t have to be nice to me.”

“I was never nice to you because you were a god, Apollo,” Rachel said seriously. She sighed when he rolled his eyes. “I’m begrudgingly polite to the gods because they’re gods, I’m nice to you because I’ve always considered you to be like this weird…sort of friend. So please believe me when I tell you that you’re not being selfish.”

“You had the gift of prophecy your entire life and now you’ve gotta live without it and I’m complaining about my life and you’re saying I’m not selfish? I’ve always hated the fact that my dad was never around and never showed he cared, and here I am with kids of my own doing the exact same thing! How hypocritical is that?!”

“I can deal just fine without the gift, it’s just weird. You’ve had the Oracle around for pretty much forever, I’m not sure why you’re making that comparison. And the demigod thing is kind of awful, but you can’t say you’re any worse than any other god. Just apologize and change your behavior from here on out.”

“That seems like I only did it because I pity them or whatever. Like I see how much it sucks and now I just feel bad.”

Rachel shrugged. “So? I’m not going to say they’ll forgive you immediately, but they’ll appreciate you changing for the better. The worst that’s going to happen is them being angry at you for a while. That’s better than— It’s better than the alternative.”

Apollo leaned his head on the back on the couch. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Depends?”

“Why did you visit me, but not them?”

“This is the point where I would lay on the floor for about an hour.”

Rachel motioned to the ground. “Go ahead.”

Apollo just leaned against her side. “It just felt easier not to see them. Like I wasn’t supposed to interact much, so it was easier to just not interact at all. Any interaction resulted in way too much attachment and that…ends badly. But my Oracle… There are no rules about getting attached to the Spirit or her Host. Like Artemis and her Hunters. And the Host of the Oracle is always more protected, so she’s always around for longer. Which is an awful reason to not talk to my own children.”

Rachel wrapped her arms around him. “Awful maybe, but understandable.”

He froze. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you a hug. Do you want me to stop?”

“Why are you hugging me?”

“You need a hug, trust me. Do you want me to stop?”

“I never said that.”

She smiled as he relaxed into the hug. “So what you need to do is stop hiding away in here and go hang out with your kids.”

“But I always hide with you,” he mumbled.

“What?”

Apollo pulled away and gave her a crooked smile. “You’re my weird sort of friend too.”

“Oh my gods you’re such a sap.”

“You said it first!”

Rachel scoffed. “Fine! But we’re going to figure this out, right? We’ll be fine.”

“I mean…that totally depends on if I get another hug or not.”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> more projecting from me. yay?


End file.
